The messages of 2 and 3 John are not just for an earlier age, despite the unique and particular problems to which the letters are addressed. Like all Scripture they have a message for our own time also.
The first message of 2 and 3 John is that we will always have problems in the Christian Church. If we did not know better, we might think that certain earlier ages of church history were unlike our own in that they were relatively free of the plagues that trouble us. We might even argue that, if ever there was an age that would have been free of problems, it would be the apostolic age and that, if ever there were churches that would have been free of such things, it would have been those churches over which the apostle John presided. But in point of fact there were problems there too; and, therefore, we should not be surprised when we have them. John had great problems. There were problems of schism and heresy in the churches to which he first writes. Moreover, these were compounded by a deep confusion on the part of those who really were believers. In the second and third letters John is obviously dealing with the problems of false teaching, both without and within. Finally, in 3 John we also detect an entire range of personality conflicts, precipitated by the arrogance and desire for power of a man named Diotrephes.
We can be encouraged by these facts, not that we rejoice in other people having problems but rather that this at least helps to put our own problems in perspective. Moreover, we can refuse to be overwhelmed by our problems. Knowing that they are already known to God, we can begin to deal with them on the basis of the appropriate biblical principles and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The second message of these letters is of our own responsibility as Christians to deal with such problems. It is true that the churches of John’s day had problems, much as we do, but this was not to be an excuse for them to do nothing. On the contrary, the very fact that the letters are written to these churches by John and contain specific instructions indicates that there were actions that they were to take in order to cope with their problems. And so should we. We are not called to throw up our hands and thus abandon work that we consider to be unspiritual, without direction, or faltering. We are to assume responsibility for it and where it is possible reclaim it in the name of Christ.
Third, there is the application of the “tests of life,” which we studied in connection with 1 John, to the whole of life. In the earlier book the tests of life occurred in the context of determining whether or not one is a true child of God. These obviously apply to the whole of life even there. But it is conceivable that a person could use them to determine whether or not he is a true Christian and then forget about them, believing that they no longer have any important bearing on his conduct.
The letters of 2 and 3 John make clear that this is not possible. Here there is no question of those addressed doubting that they are Christians. Yet the tests of life are still prominent. Indeed, they are the areas in which Christians are encouraged to remain strong and to grow.
In 2 John the tests are found in the first six verses. “Truth” is in verses 1, 2, 3 and 4. “Love” is in verses 1, 3, 4 and 6. “Commandments” occurs in verses 4, 5 and 6. In 3 John “truth” is discussed in verses 3 and 4, “love” in verse 6, and “goodness” or “righteousness” in verse 11. The three words also occur in an incidental way several more times throughout the letter.
The final message of 2 and 3 John is the need to be faithful in our responsibility, particularly in little things. Neither letter is dealing with particularly important things, as we might wish to evaluate them. There are no great campaigns to be conducted, no books to be written, no confrontations with the secular world to be launched. Rather, Christians are to be faithful merely in that which they have already learned and to express those convictions consistently in regard to whom they entertain and how they conduct themselves with one another. In a certain sense these are little things. In another sense they are terribly important, for it is here that most of the battles are won.
Moreover, lest we fail to notice it, we should observe that John himself is faithful even to the point of writing letters to encourage and direct those whom he loves. He is going to visit them shortly; at least he says that he hopes to see them. But he still writes trusting that even so small a thing as a letter will do good. Are we equally faithful? Then we must take care of the little things, for it is in these rather than in the big things that we are most clearly revealed for what we are and whose we are.
